The tobacco cigarette industry wants to do serious damage to the e cig market.

[knome]

Frank aspire

Ignore Alan O'Dell.

Aspire has Official Sales Agents in Denmark and France. Look to them for advice. Also might be worth getting an Official Sales Agent for the UK. Don't you have a department or expert who deals with such matters?

 

[ninjavape]

* The maximum Nicotine content in a liquid is confirmed as being 2.0 mgs.

Might want to move the decimal point to the right a bit, 20mg has been specified.

Page 6 of http://ec.europa.eu/health/tobacco/docs/dir_201440_en.pdf

(38) Nicotine-containing liquid should only be allowed to be placed on the market under this Directive, where the nicotine concentration does not exceed 20 mg/ml. This concentration allows for a delivery of nicotine that is comparable to the permitted dose of nicotine derived from a standard cigarette during the time needed to smoke such a cigarette. In order to limit the risks associated with nicotine, maximum sizes for refill containers, tanks and cartridges should be set.

 

[nikki from mars]

knome sure this can't be 100% serious surely. ..reckon aspire have a broader market than here and are aware of legal implications of TPD well before now... although is shocking how many vape related businesses really don't have a clue at all... my local b and m only do because I told them about it... so none of their suppliers etc had told them either (modt based outside the EU I guess but not all) ..

 

[retiredguy]

retiredguy ECITA is the only regulatory body I know of in relation to ecigs (and seemingly in support of the TPD) would love to know what "trade organisation " was referred to in that posting...

It's doubtful from close-reading the email to Aspire from Mr O'Dell that he is acting in any official capacity.
That doubt might not be as apparent to someone reading it and who has English as an additional language.

 

[nikki from mars]

retiredguy well yeah sure to us it reads as spam... but a big company in the industry not getting the implications is pretty poor too

 

[knome]

@knome sure this can't be 100% serious surely. ..reckon aspire have a broader market than here and are aware of legal implications of TPD well before now... although is shocking how many vape related businesses really don't have a clue at all... my local b and m only do because I told them about it... so none of their suppliers etc had told them either (modt based outside the EU I guess but not all) ..

If you follow the trail through aspire's websites, Frank Tu does appear to be genuine. Even though we assume Chinese manufacturers are vast conglomerates it may be that aspire is quite small without a decent regulatory and legal department.

I'm suspicious of O'Dell's motives rather than Frank's concern.

 

[EthelKing]

Anyone who claims to be someone official, as Mr O'Dell appears to have done, that uses a Hotmail email address should, in my humble opinion, be viewed with a massive degree of suspicion. Also the company is one month old according to the info.

Also - this guy says

It will become necessary for production companies to obtain a medical licence from the MHRA ( for the UK) or European equivalents. This may involve an ultimate cost of up to £1 million per supplier (unclear on this point)

Now, at risk of being called out as an ignoramus, I am 99% sure that this only applies to products that are manufactured and marketed as smoking cessation aids - just like nicotine gum, patches, sprays etc. Such products will fall under medicines licencing laws, all other products under the TPD as consumer products.

Also, the information regarding VAT is also not applicable to Chinese businesses. The onus for declaring the importation of goods from outside the EU falls fairly and squarely at the feet of the importer - regardless of whether they are an individual or a business. It is the importer who is liable to pay the relevant VAT and import duties. No one else.

The whole letter seems to be bordering on some kind of opportunistic scam to me, and I would say to the original poster, and any other Eastern manufacturer one simple thing:

"Keep manufacturing what you are. You will not lose business from the West". If the ludicrous Tobacco Products Directive is introduced as it currently stands, you businesses will go from strength to strength. Consumers in the West will adjust how they currently buy - whether as individuals or as formed cooperatives acting outside of whatever laws are introduced.

 

[retiredguy]

@ nikkifrommars...

I dunno.
The Chinese are very pragmatic and Frank's had us doing some research on his behalf here.

I hope that it may have helped him.
None of us can know yet how the TPD will or will not be enacted here.
Time will tell.
We can be pretty well assured though that the Chinese will continue to manufacture vaping kit and that we'll still be able to get hold of it one way or another.

 

[nikki from mars]

knome I suspect you are correct. .. there are far too many local legislative measures to take into account irreprespective of international ones... and workers may not know but high ups may... I really doubt europe is anywhere on the radar for China

 

[philTBA]

If you follow the trail through aspire's websites, Frank Tu does appear to be genuine. Even though we assume Chinese manufacturers are vast conglomerates it may be that aspire is quite small without a decent regulatory and legal department.

Screen shot from Aspires forum.



Which is why I'm confused by Frank for Aspire asking 'is this real' would seem like the left hand don't know what the right hand is up to. Tiny from Aspire seems fully aware. As is the CEO, AND the legal team.